Happy New Year!

May you all have a grace-filled 2010!

A Letter From The Writer

Julian Fellowes, scriptwriter of The Young Victoria, writes about what attracted him to tell the less heard story of this monarch and remarkable woman. It's a facinating read. Click here for the article.

(top photos from Hollywood.com)

Kristin Chenoweth as Kristen Stewart

Check out this adorable Critics' Choice Awards promo spot featuring The Cheno as Bella in New Moon.

Journey On

There have been rumors online about Ragtime closing this January. It's a shame that this kind of talk is spreading online when producers of the show say they have no intention of doing so. I hope it stays open for people (me and Lani included) to see it. I wanted to point out this article from the NY Times regarding this matter. It's very interesting read.

(photo of Bobby Steggert who plays Younger Brother is from NY Times)

Happy Holidays!

Celebrate, Remember the Year

We at Stagenotes would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a season full of love! So we bring you back to 1996 when the Original Broadway Cast of RENT sang Seasons of Love at the Democratic National Convention. Peace!

The Strength To Meet Her Destiny

I love period films and I confess that I am an Anglophile so when my friend Marie told me about the movie The Young Victoria with Emily Blunt, I couldn’t wait to see it. Jon, Abbi and Tom viewed the movie with me on a cold rainy Saturday……perfect day for a very lovely film.

The film is about the early years of England’s Queen Victoria which started with her ascent to the throne of England as well as her love story with Prince Albert (Rupert Friend). As the film progresses, one discovers about how the young queen grew up to be a steadfast and headstrong person. She was a pawn in the politics of the day as people around her tried to control her but she grew to play the game wisely although not with missteps. I did like how the movie showed her to be so human instead of the iconic historic figure we all read about in books. I also did enjoy finding out how her friendship to Prince Albert developed to eventually become love. Yes, she married for love and not because of alliances, territorial conquests or for power. That was very refreshing.

Emily Blunt was an excellent choice for the young queen. I’ve always enjoyed her performance in The Devil Wears Prada and Sunshine Cleaning and this more dramatic turn proves well fitting for her. She had the right amount of subtlety, vulnerability and spunk when needed to. And it was quite pleasing to have a true English actress play the role, for as an audience member, I didn’t get distracted with a faux English accent that comes and goes reminiscent of other period films I’ve seen (I won’t mention it here). Rupert Friend was a well matched Prince Albert. He was soft spoken, unswerving and tender. In fact, the whole cast was great from Paul Betany (Lord Melbourne), Harriet Walter (Queen Adelaide with a flawless accent.....and I must say having seen her recently in Mary Stuart....she does play royalty quite well), Mark Strong (Sir John Conroy who you’d immediately dislike), Jim Broadbent (King William) and Miranda Richardson (Dutchess of Kent).

The script by Gosford Park's Jullian Fellows was very engaging and I loved the Victorian costumes as well as the set. It does really put you in that era and takes you out of your present reality. At least that’s how I felt. I knew midway through the movie that this one should be part of my dvd collection.

NY Mag's Best Performances of '09

NY Magazine posted their Best Performance's of 2009 and Broadway's Jen Cody made it to the list! Now, I haven't seen the Princess and the Frog yet but I know Lani has and raved about it.....and about her. Here's what the magazine had to say about her:

"It's not easy to serve as an unofficial corporate apology while remaining totally endearing, but Broadway vet Cody pulls it off in Disney's re-envisioning of their lucrative princess franchise. Man-crazy, sickeningly rich, and desperate to be royalty, Lottie serves as flouncing counterpoint to the movie's sensible heroine, Tiana — but pretty much steals the show." —Dan Kois

To see who else made it to the list, please click here.

(photo from NY Mag)

Hansel and Gretel at the Met

Thanks to the kind people at the Met, I was able to attend the premiere last Monday, the 14th. I took my Tita Ermie, my mom's best friend from college who has been living in NYC since 1967. She used to be a season ticket holder for the Met Opera but has lately decided to just pick and choose which productions she goes see. "I mean, how many times can one see Carmen?" Yeah, she's that much of an opera buff.

Tita Ermie was quite excited to see "Hansel and Gretel". I however was a bit apprehensive. About 12 years ago, I went with some friends to see "Don Giovanni" and I thought I was going to go crazy. The music was slow, the production was long, and I was wearing wool socks and pants and thought I would kill someone with how warm they kept the theatre.

So I was prepared this time. Dressed in layers, no wool socks, and Hansel and Gretel was their "kid-friendly" production so an opera novice like me should be okay. Plus we had great seats in the orchestra so there was less of a chance of me going insane.

Let me start by saying that I forgot how utterly large the stage is at the Met. I was there a week ago for the backstage tour yet is still was not enough to prepare me for how tall the stage is. The orchestra was full and lavish, which is one of the things that keeps Tita Ermie coming back for more.

She did however have some comments about the set, saying that she didn't like how "spare" it looked. I thought it was clever and very modern how they did their sets, especially the forest. Instead of the usual trees, they decorated it like a huge dining room with foliage wall paper, an antler chandelier, and a long wooden dining room. The trees were men in somber gray suits with tree trucks as heads and branches for arms. It was more Metropolitan Home than Metropolitan Opera. The gingerbread house was represented by a screen with a modernist painting of a mouth and teeth surrounded by what I can only describe as a big swirly gum (think Van Gogh's sun but in red and pink). There was also a cupcake perched on top of a tongue that was wheeled around stage but words could never really accurately describe what that was.

There were also some modern takes with the costumes, like the way Hansel and Gretel have on the traditional German kids jumpsuit and dress whereas their parents wore modern office clothing.

Now for the music. Did I already mention that I am not a huge opera fan? The pieces always seem to open with melodies that were accessible or "catchy" then it would slowly progress to more minor keys that are said to express the "darkness" of the Brothers Grimm fair tale. This is when I would get lost and start looking at the set and read the subtitles more. The main parts were played well, but it was the cross dressing witch that stole the show, with her ghastly bingo arms and deep voice.

The show did not make me an opera fan, but it did give me a reason to be more curious about it. Maybe after seeing the Magic Flute? "Carmen is a good one for you to see," replied my Tita. Somehow though, I have a feeling she will not be accompanying me for that.

Snap! Snap!

The first few clips of The Addams Family musical. Here in Chicago until Jan. 10, 2010 and coming to Broadway in April 2010.

Ordinary Days

The dashing David Burnham talks about his carrier and his role as Jason in Ordinary Days. The musical by Adam Gwon is about four young New Yorkers who experience anything but ordinary days as each tries to build a life in the big city. So for those of you in the Los Angeles area, the show is produced by the SouthCoast Rep and also includes Nancy Anderson, David Burnham, Deborah S. Craig, and Nick Gabriel. It plays from Jan. 3-24, 2009, click on the link above for tickets.

The musical just ended a successful run in NYC produced by The Roundabout Theatre Co. with Hunter Foster and Lisa Brescia in the leads.

Circle of Life

I was so sad to hear about the passing of Roy Disney, Walt's nephew. He spearheaded the return of classic animated films, beginning with The Little Mermaid, and included critically acclaimed movies like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. I waited every year for the studio's full length feature film.

God rest your soul Mr. Disney.

(photo from Wikipedia)

Late Cate

The wonderful Cate Blanchett has been getting rave reviews for her Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Name Desire at BAM. Last Sunday it was reported by the NY Times that weather has conspired against her causing her to be late for the show. Read about details here.

On a related note, check out this post from an audience member who met Ms. Blanchett at the stagedoor on a different day. She's what a nice and classy lady.

(photo from NY Times)

Her Poker Face

Lea Salonga sings Lady Gaga's Poker Face from her "Your Songs" Concert last Dec. 11 &12 at the PICC in Manila.

Over Joyed

Glee cast shows their surprise and appreciation with the nomination they received from the Golden Globes. If you haven't heard yet, Glee has been nominated for Best Television Series and have garnered a Best Actor nomination for Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Best Actress for Lea Michele (Rachel Berry) and Best Supporting Actress for Jane Lynch (Sue Silvester).

How I Met Your Mother....The Musical

Neil Patrick Harris, in the above photo, will lead the cast of How I Met Your Mother in it's 100th episode which is going to be a musical. The episode will air Jan 11, 2010. For more photos of the episode please click here: BroadwayWorld.com

(photo from BWW.com)

The Winner Takes It All

The Stagenotes team would like to congratulate Lisa Dionisio for winning our Opera Ticket Giveaway! Lisa won a pair of tickets for the Dec. 17, 2009 performance of the Met's Hansel and Gretel. Hope you enjoy the show!

Chillin' On Glee

Abs and Biceps and Pecs Oh My (yes the first few secs)! Glee's Mark Salling (Puck) sings an ode to his Glee cast and crew. Have a listen!

Postcards from Chicago: The Wit Hotel

After the painful experience at Banana Shpeel (read about that here), we decided to salvage the evening by heading next door to the Roof bar of The Wit Hotel. That seemed to perk up the night! Check out the great views!


Lake Street and the Thompson Federal Bldg. (semi-circle bldg)


State Street

The Chicago River and the Marina Towers

The El tracks on Lake Street

The Chicago Theatre marquee below and Lake Street

Facing southeast with Millenium Park and the Smurfit Stone Bldg. in view

This Gonna be Good!

Yes, I've been wanting to see The Princess and the Frog not just because it's the first African-American Disney heroine, but also because it's a good old-fashioned hand-drawn musical cartoon. And Lynn articulated my first thought after the film ended (to audience applause): "I'm getting the DVD."

Anika Noni Rose is Tiana, our strong, smart and hard-working protagonist. She aims to fulfill her father's (Terrence Howard) dream of opening up a restaurant in jazz era New Orleans. Her mother Eudora (Oprah Winfrey) works for Big Daddy La Bouff (John Goodman). His daughter Charlotte has her own dream of finding her prince. It was refreshing to see the two girls grow up to be friends, equals despite different social standings. We tend to see blonde rich girls portrayed as spoiled and unkind in movies. Lottie is never mean. And as voiced by the talented Jennifer Cody, she is a riot. Watch out for the scene at Duke's Cafe and see if you can keep up with her. (And also to see if you can get over your craving for beignets by the end of the film.)

The handsome but arrogant Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) arrives in the Crescent City with his not-so-faithful companion Lawrence. Through a frightening encounter with the voodoo man Dr. Facilier (an unnerving and creepy Keith David), the prince becomes a frog. Tiana herself gets turned into a frog when she tried to help him. To break the spell, they must see the "blind voodoo lady who lives in a boat in a tree in the bayou", the very funny Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis). They are aided in their quest by yet another pair of unlikely companions: Louis (Michael Leon-Wooley), an alligator who just wants to play jazz; and Ray (Jim Cummings), a lovestruck Cajun firefly.

Randy Newman's jazzy, toe-tapping music score had good songs, but none that really stuck in my head by the end. Aside from the great story-telling, laugh-out-loud lines, sentimental moments, wondrous singing and memorable characters, what really made the movie for me was the traditional animation. There's nothing like 2D animation to convey emotions and ambience. I never thought one could be visually hungry, but I couldn't get enough of the beautiful artwork. I just wanted my eyes to linger on specific scenes and take in all the colors and subtleties.

Bravo to the House of Mouse for going back to its roots. The Princess and the Frog not only gave us the first black Disney heroine, but a classic yet original and creative re-telling of an old fairy tale. And instead of the vapid Disney Channel girls, how about more Tianas?

(photo from Imp Awards)

Side By Side by Susan Blackwell

Title of Show alumni, Susan Blackwell will be doing a new feature for Broadway.com. Side By Side By Susan Blackwell is an original monthly talk show conceived, written and hosted by Susan Blackwell. She will separately interview three Broadway stars in each episode in the morning, afternoon and evening of one fabulous New York City day. The first episode will be tomorrow Monday, Dec. 14, 2009.

The premiere episode will feature Sutton Foster (Shrek), Laura Benanti (In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play) and Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening). She has also written the title song for the segment and it features a slew of Broadway talent.

To follow this, please click here: Broadway.com

"unaPEELing"

Last snowy Wednesday night (12/9), Abbi, Tom and I saw the new Cirque Du Soleil show, Banana Shpeel. They're doing their out of town tryouts here in Chicago before they open in NYC next year. It was billed as a theatrical merge of vaudeville, hip hop and tap. Well, I've never done this EVER, but this night I walked out at intermission.

I'm not really a fan of the "Three Stooges" type of slapstick comedy and I was aware that this would be part of the show. However, I thought that the vaudeville part would just be a minor part. More of a "master of ceremonies" portion which introduced the dances or the acrobat acts that Cirque is known for. Alas, the slapstick comedy was drawn out for what seems to be forever. It wasn't really funny and you realize why that style has lost it's audience. But you have to sit through it to get to see the dances or acrobat acts which I thought were good. I even remember thinking.....Oh my, I missed the season finale of Glee for this?!! So there you go once the lights went up at intermission, Abbi, Tom and I headed out the door wishing we had just stayed home.

Some photos I took that night:


Chicago Theatre marquee

the chandelier hanging at the theatre lobby

Until we Met Again

Thomas Hoving, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art ,has passed on. The cause was lung cancer. He was 78 years old. He helped make the Met what it is today.
Our condolences to his family and friends.

(Mr. Hoving's photo from the NY Times)

All Together Kooky

Saturday (12/5) night we saw The Addams Family musical that's having it's out of town tryouts here in Chicago before it's Broadway transfer. When they had first announced it, I was worried that it might be another Young Frankenstein.....aka.....a disappointment. I was sure though that I wanted to see it even before the cast was announced because I like Andrew Lippa's music. Yes, he's the composer of this show.

The show opens with the premise of Wednesday coming into adulthood and falling in love with Lucas Beineke. The Addams invite the Beineke's for dinner so the two families could meet. A conservative family from Ohio meets the kooky Addams clan. Chaos ensues!

The show turned out to be really enjoyable. It's light, smart and very witty. It had a good mixture of darkness and kookiness and surprisingly a lot of laugh out loud moments. It has a stellar cast composed of Nathan Lane (Gomez), Bebe Neuwirth (Morticia), Terrence Mann (Mal Beineke), Carolee Carmelo (Alice Bieneke), Wesley Taylor (Lucas Beineke), Krysta Rodriguez (Wednesday), Adam Riegler (Pugsley), Kevin Chamberlin (Uncle Fester), Jackie Hoffman (Grandma) and Zachary James (Lurch). As always, Nathan Lane has great comic timing and good chemistry with Bebe Neuwirth. It's been such a pleasure to watch Bebe Neuwirth dance or just even move across the stage. What a great dancer she is. She has a great dance showcase in the 2nd Act in The Swordfight/Tango. Terrence Mann and Carolee Carmelo were both remarkable. Jackie Hoffman is a scene stealer with her one liners and I'm not sure if they were her ad libs which she's known for or were really part of the script. I have to say though that the whole cast were great and perfectly casted. And everyone was in great voice. I feel that it's more an ensemble piece than a showcase for the leads.

In terms of the story arc, well it does have some heart specially that moment with Gomez and Wednesday where Gomez comes to terms that his daughter has grown up. It was touching. I do think there were some parts where I felt the show slowed down particularly with the "relationship conflict" of the Beineke's.

The music and lyrics written by Andrew Lippa were fun with tinges of Spanish and Latin rhythm influences. They have a great opening number in Clandango. It just sets up the mood of the show. I also did cherish Crazier Than You, a number between Lucas and Wednesday.

The set design was impressive with the house breaking apart and coming together. Plus the tree and Manhattan Skyline scene was done in great detail. It's like you opened a story book. I also have to mention that I did like the use of the red curtain to partition the stage (for lack of a better term) so the audience focuses on a certain part of the stage at a particular scene.

I really enjoyed the production. I hope Chicago and NYC audience will find it enjoyable too.

Some photos I took that night:

The marquee

The Stage Door in the alley behind the Ford Center of Performing Arts

Bebe Neuwirth (Morticia) was EXTREMELY nice and down to earth. She chatted with people and made sure she talked to everyone and signed their playbills before she got into her waiting car.

Krysta Rodriguez (Wednesday)

Kevin Chamberlin (Uncle Fester)

Wesley Taylor (Lucas Beineke)

Terrence Mann (Mal Beineke) who was very gracious

A blurry photo (my camera acted up!) of a very amiable Andrew Lippa (Composer).

Finally I was able to get Andrew Lippa to sign my playbill of his show, The Wild Party. He's the last piece of the puzzle. The other signatures are from Julia Murney (Queenie) and Brian D'Arcy James (Burrs)

Met Opera Backstage Tour

Tree lighting at Lincoln Center was what tree lightings should be: brisk, a beautiful tree, some carols, complimentary hot chocolate and hot apple cider,......and over in 30 minutes. The complete opposite of what the Rockelfeller Center tree lighting. It felt special and intimate, definitely a New York moment.

I was fortuante enough to have been part of the "Bloggers" tour of the inner workings of the Met opera. It started in the actual theater itself with some cool facts about the architecture: Wallace Harrison was the architect, the interior has no 90 degree angles for superior acoustics (none of the performers are mic'ed....ever!), the panelling came from one gynormous tree, 32 Swarofski crystals are in the performing area, etc.

What was most impressive were the way they handle sets. There was an active crew on stage at 6 pm putting up the "Figaro" set to replace the "Hansel and Gretel" set that had a rehearsal that afternoon. "Figaro" was on that night at 8! The stage is actually 11 stories high and they store a lot of the sets overhead. Those sets can move at a rate of 3 ft per sec. So watching the stage hands prepare the set for a totally different opera within a day was very impressive. And the whole backstage is a whole village. They build their own sets so it was like a Home Depot back there, both in size and in equipment/stock. And they had costumes being repaired or distressed. Ever since the MET opera started doing broadcasts in HD, they've had to be more meticulous with how the clothes look from both afar and up close.

I'll be back on Monday with a review of "Hansel and Gretel."

Opera Giveaway

Stagenotes is giving away a pair of tickets to the Met Opera's Production of "Hansel and Gretel". The tickets are for Dec 17th at 8 pm. It is the Met's holiday production and will be sung in English, which should be a good treat to anyone who may find opera intimidating (myself included). From what I've seen at the website, including the short video they have of it, it looks to be a fanciful romp with lavish sets and a crossdressing witch/baker/Julia Child look-a-like. What's not to love? Contact us via email to avail of this offer.

I will be at the premier with my Aunt who is an opera aficionado. (When I called to let her know I had tickets, she was at Lincoln Center watching "Il Trititico"). Maybe she can broaden my horizons beyond trying to sing the aria of the queen of the night from "The Magic Flute". (I truly can hit those high notes in my head).

Late Night Broadway

Late Night Broadway at Western Michigan University's Williams Theatre showcased the talents of the graduating class of their musical theatre program. Eleven students performed and they were uber talented! It was on a thrust stage with the audience in stadium style seats and some on tables around the stage, a very intimate setting. The students had great voices and energy, it was very enjoyable. The list of their songs are as follows:


Those who were memorable to me were Samuel Ramirez (great physicality and comedic timing), Tiffany Dissette (great voice), Emily Iaquinta (I loved her version of See I'm Smiling) and Jared Woodhouse (what a great baritone voice). I also loved the number Friends performed by Emily Iaquinta and William Casey. It was very amusing and just pure delight. The audience was comprised of family and friends which fostered raucous cheers after every number.



The second act of the showcase featured Julia Murney who performed songs she's done in her solo shows. My favs were her interpretation of Colored Lights (fr The Rink), Much At All, So Anyway and of course Maria (fr West Side Story). It was also great to see her perform Raise The Roof live and with some staging and choreography by the senior students as the ensemble. What a very rousing number! I don't know if it was because Julia was under the weather or it was a long day for her (which she admitted during the show) but I just noticed that she sang her songs softer than I've heard her in her previous concerts. Don't get me wrong, she still poured emotions into her songs but her voice was just softer. However, by doing this, there was this pronounced effect on the audience. I'm not sure who I've heard it from before but it's said that when you perform you either bring your show to the audience or let the audience come to you. Well, I'm sure it might not be intentional but by doing so, she did let the audience come to her. The audience was in complete silence during her songs specially on the softer parts. And specially during Maria. They were SO intent on listening to every note, savouring every lyric. It was very palpable and so surprising. I think the last time I've experienced that was in Grey Gardens with Christine Ebersole and it was just nice to experience that again.


Here are some photos I took the next day before I left Kalamazoo:


University Theatre poster outside the Gilmore Theatre Complex

The Gilmore Theatre Complex

The Miller Auditorium

The Richmond Center for Visual Arts

Big-name musicals continue drawing big crowds

Are people taking less risks in their show-watching and shelling out their dollars in favor of shows that have been proven time and again to be popular? The New York Times observes how shows like Wicked, The Lion King, and Billy Eliot open to packed theaters, while the newer and as-yet unknown shows get less attention and hover on the verge of untimely closings.

Honesty With A Dash Of Hopefulness

This week, Julia Murney has been busy teaching a masterclass for theatre students of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. She gives soon to be professional theatre actors a glimpse of the life of a working actor in NYC. Check out the videos below where she talks about the reality of the business behind the glamour of Broadway.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Incidentally, she will also be performing with WMU senior students at Late Night Broadway, a cabaret held at Terry Williams Theatre tonight Dec 3 until Saturday Dec 5. For more information about the concert, please click here.

(video courtesy of Fox17)

LXD - Legion of Extraordinary Dancers

Did you see LXD (Legion of Extraordinary Dancers) in So You Think You Can Dance? They performed to Yellow by Vitamin String Quartet. It was phenomenal! The piece was so dynamic and lyrical, I am in awe. Keep an eye out for them and to watch a video of their performance, click on the photo above.

(photo from Idoltv.com)

The Battery's well.......Done!

The Battery's Down, a musical web series that takes a look at an actor's life in the world of show business, just came to an end. It was conceived by Jake Wilson who also stars in it. Along with him are noted theatre notables like Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Mary Poppins, Spelling Bee), Dani Spieler (Legally Blonde), Nina Sturtz (Vote! The Musical) and Cortney Wolfson (Legally Blonde, Les Miserables). The series is directed and choreographed by Connor Gallagher (Fat Camp), with musical supervision by Adam Watcher.

So after 2 seasons, here's the 3 part finale entitled The Party's Over. Keep your eyes out for cameos of Shoshana Bean, Jesse Tyler-Furgusson, Julia Murney, Mary Testa, Titus Burgess, Kyle Dean Massey, Bobby Steggert, Cheyenne Jackson, Jen Cody......and lots more! Plus this episode also features songs from Next To Normal writing team, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey plus Ryan Scott Oliver and Kirsten Guenther. To see previous episodes please check out The Battery's Down website.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:

Stocking Stuffers

Looking for gift ideas for your theatre geek friend or family member? Sh-K-Boom Records has great holiday offers including some Cd combo packages like the Broadway or the Diva Collection. Check out their web specials: Sh-K-Boom.com


(photo from Sh-K-Boom.com)

RIP, Solange Magnano

Occasionally, I like looking up any news and updates on the people who participated in Miss Universe 1994, which was held in Manila, Philippines and saw the first Miss India become Miss Universe. I still remember a lot of the names of the candidates thanks to the heavy pageant coverage at the time, and one of the candidates whose evening gown I absolutely loved was Miss Italy Arianna David. Turned out she became a porn star, bit of a surprise there.

But the bigger surprise is the latest news about Miss Argentina Solange Magnano, who died due to complications from gluteoplasty. The liquid used during the procedure somehow reached her lungs and her brain, and she died eventually due to pulmonary embolism. She was 37, and her case only highlights how risky plastic surgery can be.

Broadway dims lights for World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day, and while a cure is still out of our reach, and while people all over the world are living with and dying from the disease, it remains important that we don't forget how it affects everyone and that we continue spreading the word about AIDS awareness and prevention and to press for stronger efforts in finding a cure.

Broadway has always been part of the fight against AIDS and tonight at 8 p.m., theaters will be dimming their marquee lights for one minute "remember those lost to AIDS and turned back on to emphasize human rights for those living with HIV/AIDS around the world."